New tricks

By definition "Timid" and "Assertive" are contrary traits. However, in this little girl, they co-exist in the same tiny body as friends. We were at Babies R' Us the other day & she was pulling her usual trick of resting her head against me whenever anyone so much as glanced in her direction. Then she saw this ride on toy & immediately perked right up! I put her down she walked right over to the little girl, who was riding on it, bent down to be able to look her directly in the eyes & and gave her the look. You know...the "there's a new sheriff in town" look. It actually worked & Bella rode around the store much longer than we really needed to be there. It was cute to see her excited about a toy and it was all pink & girlie, so I caved & we brought the sheriff's new vehicle home.

All the kids go bananas over Len laying on the floor. They crawl all over him & he plays & wrestles with them. Lately, Bella sees the fun & walks over there like she's Butch the bouncer at the most popular Hollywood nightclub. She throws her arms as she aggressively walks through the crowd to get to her station. She's claimed her position as "Queen of the mountain!" (Not that your stomach is like a mountain, Len. Lookin' good honey!) xoxo

Here's another example of my timid, shy child trying to take out her older brother. Whenever I grab the camera & tell someone to "smile" it's a cue for Mack to come running. He can hear me pick up the camera from anywhere in the house & has to be in every possible picture! This morning I was trying to capture Bella & her new trick of climbing on every chair in the house. She saw Mack trying to spoil her shot & started shoving him out of the picture. Hopefully "Timid & Assertive" will turn into "Meek & confident" as she grows older!

Bella's on top of the kitchen table whenever possible the last 2 days. I have been trying to be stern & tell her "No", especially considering we have tile in the kitchen. She thinks it's hilarious & now waits for me to catch her & then runs the length of the table. It's so scary & totally needs to be dealt with before she cracks her head open. I'm working on a new approach that she will take seriously. I did capture her giving me the "come & get me" look before she took off running yesterday though. It's so cute, even if it's completely insane! It still just floors me (no bad pun intended) that my sweet, shy, timid little girl has found this new aggresive side. I am remembering many instances of little boys at this age climbing out of cribs, scaling the cupboards & teetering on the edges of their highchairs though. I guess it's the age...or our genes!

P.S. I think an alternate caption for this photo could be:
"does this diaper make my butt look big?"
It's cute when your 1!